Plan Ahead

This Wednesday, April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day.

Here’s something unique about me – I’m a big fan of advance directives. Sounds like a funny thing to get excited about but I sure am. Anything I can do to minimize confusion and chaos in the healthcare experience, and offer the gift of clarity to my loved ones in stressful situations – I’m in. It is complicated enough!

I’ve completed mine – and I’m here to encourage you to do the same. The overwhelming reason people give for not completing one is that they haven’t gotten around to it. Today’s your day!

You will likely be relieved to know that the process is easy and generative. It helps you reflect on what matters most to you today. And the conversations that ensue are rich and connecting. Why am I talking about this here (aside for exposing you to a quirk of mine)? Because – like everything else we talk about – spending some time reflecting on what you are aiming for is Step One in making it a reality. True for figuring out a job, true for planning for retirement, true for imagining your care preferences.

Advance directives come into play when you can’t speak for yourself. Once you get clear on your preferences, the next big part of the process is identifying your health care agent/proxy – the person who you would ask to represent and honor your wishes if you can’t. Sometimes it is an obvious choice – but not always because sometimes those closest to you would struggle to simply execute your voice. After all, a health care agent isn’t empowered to make THEIR own decisions, they are charged with communicating and advocating for YOUR choices.

You must tire of hearing me say – there’s no shortcut. No one can speak for you if they don’t know what you want. And no one can know what you want – but you. So, grab a computer or a pen and paper.

Here’s some resources to explore

• Start with this Conversation Starter Guide from The Conversation Project (TCP). You can reflect on and fill in answers – as much or as little as you’d like.

• Explore the Five Wishes document (Sample) which includes a place to designate a Health Care Agent, info on which states need additional legal documentation (it’s only a few), and the covers wishes for preferences of life-sustaining treatment, as well as a deeper dive into care preferences and supports. The digital version is $15 (only $7.50 in April!) and can be updated as often as you’d like.

A couple process recommendations:

• Store your completed docs where others can find them! Digital copies can be shared – and you can upload to your Electronic Medical Record (eg MyChart).

• Like our career path, our care preferences change along the course of our life. Revisit and update your wishes regularly (perhaps on April 16th!), and keep your hc proxy and medical records current.

Austin Roy is a 12th grade English teacher in California who created and leads Completing Your Advance Directive workshops with his students and nationwide. When he was creating the coursework he sent out information to the students’ parents for permission and feedback.  He got LOTS of emails.  And all were Thank Yous.  Thanks for opening up this convo, thanks for normalizing such an important topic – and “I wish I’d had this in high school”. His energy and passion for this work is compelling (HERE’s a video if you’re interested).

Personal goal: 10 people in my circle complete their Advance Directive in April. Let me know!